Most asteroids that have been found hurling through space have been made of ice or rock. So when you find one made almost entirely of metal, you have to check it out.

That’s the case with 16 Psyche, a recently-discovered asteroid that scientists believe is composed mainly of nickel and iron. For that reason, NASA is setting its sights on the asteroid for its next mission.

But even though the iron on the asteroid alone could be worth up to $10,000 quadrillion, this mission isn’t about mining resources from the asteroid. Some scientists believe that the earth’s core is made of some of the same metals as the asteroid. And so 16 Psyche could actually be the core of an early planet, which could potentially help scientists learn a lot more about the makeup of our own planet.

Pay Attention to Serendipitous Discoveries

It’s unlikely that your business is going to visit any asteroids in the near future. But this concept is actually one that can apply to a lot of businesses as well. When you find an anomaly of any kind, whether it’s an asteroid made of unique materials or just a strange jump in traffic on your analytics, it’s worth looking into.

In business, like in science and so many other areas of life, the lessons you learn aren’t always planned. Sometimes you run into things by accident that can be extremely helpful in getting you where you want to go — as long as you actually take the initiative to look into those serendipitous discoveries.